What's in a name? Plenty

Because of its large Asian population, it chose to name it the "Bay Area Yellowskins."

It has as ring to it, right? Yeah, about the same ring as the Washington Redskins.

Opposition to the Washington NFL franchise's name has been slowly building. It's considered insensitive to Native — and many other — Americans.

There's also been a stubborn resistance by the team's owner to change it.

Times change with events. The organization adopted "Redskins" in 1933. The Indian Appropriations Act sentenced American Indians to reservations in 1851.

Have we learned anything?

Attitudes are slow to change. The Emancipation Proclamation freed remaining slaves from the Confederate states in 1863. Yet, try to hail a taxi in uptown Manhattan if you're black. You might as well walk.

My late father, who was born before World War I, used to refer to African-Americans as colored people.

It wasn't out of bigotry or hate; it was the term used when he came of age.

Language is a living, dynamic thing. New words become fashionable, while old words take on new meanings.

The term Redskins might have sounded cute in 1933, but it doesn't anymore. St. John's University understood this 20 years ago when it changed its name from the Redmen to Red Storm.

If the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers is banned from basketball and forced to sell his team for using racially offensive language, shouldn't the NFL uphold the same standards? At least for the name of a team?

I understand Washington owner Dan Snyder's reluctance to make the change.

It's expensive to rename an established brand. It means re-educating consumers, changing signage and everything else with the logo.

There's also the loss of continuity, even the loss of some history.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled Wednesday that the Redskins name is "disparaging of Native Americans," and should be stripped of trademark protection.

That decision doesn't force the team to change the name. But it has broad implications. It would mean anyone could use the name and maybe even the logo without fear of trademark infringement.

Anyone could make and sell Redskins T-shirts without paying an expensive royalty to the NFL and the team.

It's about time the team's owner concedes that the meaning of words change over time and offending an entire race isn't an act of good citizenship.

No, there will be no Bay Area Yellowskins. Nor should there continue to be a Washington Redskins.